Diet After Colon Resection Surgery

Patients who have actually gone through recent bowel surgery must follow a special diet that will decrease the work their bodies have to do to digest food. The objective is to avoid extending the area where the bowel has actually been reattached, and to help decrease gas production (a common side-effect after surgery) that can be unpleasant. This unique diet is a short-term way of eating and a doctor will advance the diet to consist of other items when it is appropriate.

Start with clear liquids (i.e. juice, gelatin, clear broths, tea, and so on) that are essential to examine the resected bowel’s function. If these products are tolerated by the patient, gradually advancing her to a diet that is low in fiber and fat will permit appropriate nutrition while minimizing anxiety on the digestive tract during digestion.

It’s common to have questions about what you can eat after surgery, specifically gastrointestinal surgery. Physicians recommend a colectomy, or colon resection, to deal with a variety of illness, consisting of colon cancer and inflammatory bowel condition. The procedure involves removing the affected part of your colon to prevent the progression of condition or stop bleeding. After surgery, it’s typical to stay in the health center for a few days. Doctors typically recommend a liquid diet, followed by a soft diet as soon as you’re discharged.

Eating After Colon Surgery

Clear Liquids

After a colon resection, your bowels require time to recover and start working again. For the first day or more after you leave the hospital, your doctor might suggest sticking to clear liquids given that they require hardly any food digestion.

On a clear liquid diet, you typically stick to fruit juices, clear broth soups, tea, flavored ices and other clear drinks. A clear liquid diet lacks nutrients, so physicians usually just suggest it for brief periods.

Full Liquids

Your doctor evaluates your progress and identifies when you have the ability to move to complete liquids, which supply a bit more nutrition. A full liquid diet consists of foods from the clear liquid diet along with extra liquids. It’s common to have milk, vegetable juice, smooth soups, yogurt and other foods with a liquid consistency.

With proper planning, a full liquid diet can supply enough protein, fat and calories, but it might do not have certain nutrients, such as vitamin B-12, thiamin and iron, according to GI Associates and Endoscopy Center.

Soft foods

Once your bowels are working all right, your doctor can move you on to a soft diet. Your physician supplies certain guidelines such as serving sizes and meal frequency. It’s essential to follow your doctor’s guidelines to facilitate recovery. A soft diet usually includes foods such as bread, cooked tender veggies, cheeses, prepared soft cereals, tender meat that’s not fried and foods from the full liquid diet.

Regular foods

You might experience bowel problems after colon resection surgery. Your colon plays host to enzymes and complex colonies of germs that help food digestion. It might take a while for the enzymes and bacteria to go back to regular. Till then, you might experience diarrhea and other digestion issues. You can lessen digestive problems by eating foods that are easy to absorb, according to the University of Michigan Health System.

Speak to your doctor about the best way to begin presenting regular foods. Easy-to-digest foods are nonspicy, nongreasy and moderate in taste, such as bananas, boiled rice, refined hot cereals, apple sauce, potatoes, pasta and yogurt.